Wave of bombs during Ramadan kills 38 in Iraq

Published 8:41 pm, Sunday, July 14, 2013

Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad. A wave of explosions tore through overwhelmingly Shiite areas around the country.

Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad. A wave of explosions tore through overwhelmingly Shiite areas around the country.

Photo: Nabil Al-Jurani, Associated Press

Wave of bombs during Ramadan kills 38 in Iraq

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Baghdad --

A wave of coordinated blasts that tore through overwhelmingly Shiite cities shortly before the breaking of the Ramadan fast and other attacks killed at least 38 in Iraq on Sunday, the latest in a surge of violence that is raising fears the country is deteriorating into full-scale sectarian fighting.

Insurgents have been pounding Iraq with bombings and other attacks for months in the country's worst eruption of violence in half a decade. The pace of the killing has picked up since the Muslim holy month Ramadan began last week, with daily mass-casualty attacks marring what is meant to be a month of charity and peaceful reflection.

Violence in Iraq has risen to its deadliest level since 2008, with more than 2,800 people killed since the start of April. The spike in bloodshed is growing increasingly reminiscent of the widespread sectarian killing that peaked in 2006 and 2007, when the country teetered on the brink of civil war.

Insurgents often increased attacks during Ramadan in the years following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Pious Muslims go without food, drink, smoking and sex in the daytime during the holy month, when feelings of spiritual devotion are high.

In the deadliest attack, at least eight people were killed and 15 were wounded in the southern port city of Basra when a car bomb and then a follow-up blast went off near an office of a Shiite political party, according to police.

Another car bomb exploded among shops and take-away restaurants in central Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad. The provincial deputy governor, Haidar Mohammed Jassim, said five people were killed and 35 wounded.

Police reported additional car bomb explosions that left four dead in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, five near an outdoor market in Nasiriyah and six near a Shiite mosque in Musayyib, and more than 60 wounded in total.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the recent wave of attacks, but Sunni extremists, including al Qaeda's Iraq branch, are believed to be responsible for much of the killing. They frequently target Shiites, security forces and civil servants in an effort to undermine the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.

Also Sunday, a spokesman for Iraq's prime minister said that outgoing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to visit Iraq later this week.

Iraq's government has strengthened ties with Tehran since the toppling of dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. The closeness rankles Sunnis. Many believe Baghdad is too friendly with the Shiite powerhouse of Iran, the main regional backer of Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad.